Neurovascular Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2024 Nov;44(11):1238-1252. doi: 10.1177/0271678X241238845. Epub 2024 Jun 4.
Endothelial blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction is critical in the pathophysiology of brain injury. Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) activation disrupts BBB integrity in the injured brain. We aimed to test the efficacy of a novel ROCK2 inhibitor in preserving the BBB after acute brain injury. We characterized the molecular structure and pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of a novel selective ROCK2 inhibitor, NRL-1049, and its first metabolite, 1-hydroxy-NRL-1049 (referred to as NRL-2017 hereon) and tested the efficacy of NRL-1049 on the BBB integrity in rodent models of acute brain injury. Our data show that NRL-1049 and NRL-2017 both inhibit ROCK activity and are 44-fold and 17-fold more selective towards ROCK2 than ROCK1, respectively. When tested in a mouse model of cortical cryoinjury, NRL-1049 significantly attenuated the increase in water content. Interestingly, 60% of the mice in the vehicle arm developed seizures within 2 hours after cryoinjury versus none in the NRL-1049 arm. In spontaneously hypertensive rats, NRL-1049 attenuated the dramatic surge in Evans Blue extravasation compared with the vehicle arm after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Hemorrhagic transformation was also reduced. We show that NRL-1049, a selective ROCK2 inhibitor, is a promising drug candidate to preserve the BBB after brain injury.
内皮血脑屏障 (BBB) 功能障碍是脑损伤病理生理学的关键。Rho 相关蛋白激酶 (ROCK) 的激活会破坏损伤大脑中的 BBB 完整性。我们旨在测试一种新型 ROCK2 抑制剂在急性脑损伤后维持 BBB 的疗效。我们对一种新型选择性 ROCK2 抑制剂 NRL-1049 及其第一个代谢产物 1-羟基-NRL-1049(此处称为 NRL-2017)的分子结构、药效学和药代动力学特性进行了表征,并测试了 NRL-1049 在急性脑损伤啮齿动物模型中对 BBB 完整性的疗效。我们的数据表明,NRL-1049 和 NRL-2017 均可抑制 ROCK 活性,对 ROCK2 的选择性分别是 ROCK1 的 44 倍和 17 倍。在皮层冷冻损伤的小鼠模型中进行测试时,NRL-1049 显著减轻了水含量的增加。有趣的是,在冷冻损伤后 2 小时内,载体组中有 60%的小鼠发生癫痫发作,而 NRL-1049 组中无一例发生。在自发性高血压大鼠中,与载体组相比,NRL-1049 可减轻短暂性大脑中动脉闭塞后伊文思蓝外渗的急剧增加。出血性转化也减少。我们表明,选择性 ROCK2 抑制剂 NRL-1049 是一种有前途的候选药物,可在脑损伤后维持 BBB。